Are you ready for the unexpected?

December 27, 2022

As In The Days of Noah

Jesus told His disciples that deception, wickedness, and tribulation would come upon the earth prior to His second coming.  These teachings are recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.  At one point Jesus said this, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of man.” (Mt 24:37). Expanding on that statement He said that people were eating and drinking, marrying and carrying on life as usual right up to the very last day, unaware that God’s judgment was about to fall. They were unbelieving of judgment and ignorant of it until the very day that the rains came and they were taken away.

We might raise the question, “Did the people of Noah’s day know that the flood was coming, that judgment was imminent?” Were they ignorant because they were not forewarned, or were they ignoring God’s warning, disbelieving that anything would change the course of the world to which they were accustomed?

The answer to that question is found in the account of the flood, in Genesis 6. Over a long period of time the wickedness of mankind grew ever greater, until every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time (Gen 6:5). That is true of today, the last days before God’s next judgment. I am afraid that we do not fully realize how wicked and evil the hearts of mankind have become, similar to the days of Noah. One particular evil is singled out, the daughters of men were marrying the sons of God, and Nephilim were being born (Gen 6:2). All this wickedness led God to say that His spirit would not put up with man forever, therefore his days are limited to 120 years (Gen 6:3). That was a prophetic pronouncement that judgment was on the horizon, to be unleashed and fulfilled 120 years from the time when it was proclaimed. This pronouncement was most likely known to all mankind, through Noah, or through other spokesmen, because it came down through the ancient historians and is recorded for all mankind to know. And history proved the prophetic pronouncement of judgment to be accurate, fulfilled by God right on schedule.

As in the days of Noah, God has a time frame for fulfilling his warnings of impending judgment upon this generation, the warnings made clear for all to see in the prophecies of Revelation. And it just may be that the same 120 year time-frame is part of the meaning of the phrase, “as in the days of Noah.”  Part of the reason for such a long warning period is that God is patient, not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (II Pet 3:9).

God revealed to John the apostle that there would be seven trumpet warnings leading up to Jesus Christ coming in judgment. The seventh trumpet is the actual outpouring of His judgment upon the whole earth. This judgment, like the flood, is a transition into a new era, a new time period in His redemptive plan, namely, the Millennial Kingdom. These seven trumpet warnings are not judgments of God to be meted out during the Great Tribulation, as many have taught for over 150 years. If we allow history to interpret prophecy rather than presumption and conjecture, we may come to understand that the time span of the trumpet warnings is similar to the days of Noah. The trumpet warnings of revelation have been occurring for over 100 years.1 The first trumpet was World War 1, the second trumpet was Word War 2, the third trumpet was Chernobyl, the fourth trumpet was climate change, and the fifth trumpet was the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein. The sixth trumpet is yet to sound, which will be the build up to Armageddon, masterminded by the lawless one who leads a large Arab army against Israel.

If the time-frame of 120 years is a legitimate component of Jesus’ statement, “as in the days of Noah”, then we have a possible time-frame of His warnings leading up to the second world judgment. If this time-frame is accurate then we must realize that both tribulation and judgment are imminent, right at the door. World War 1 began in 1914, and the other four trumpet warnings occurred throughout the twentieth century. If the coming of Christ in judgment upon the eighth beast alliance and the lawless one (aka Armageddon) occurs 120 years after the beginning of the trumpet judgments, that would place it about 2034. The final judgment, the seventh trumpet/bowl judgment will follow immediately after the battle of Armageddon. Christians will be rescued from that great outpouring of God’s wrath, being gathered up to meet the Lord in the air when He returns. But we, the Church, will be here through the trumpet warnings and the extreme tribulation of the last few years leading up to Christ’s return. Part of that extreme tribulation will be ever increasing wickedness, the destruction of America, and the rise of the eighth beast and the oppressive buildup to Armageddon.

We need to understand the prophecies of Revelation accurately so that we can be ready to stand firm in faith when tribulation comes.

1  The trumpet and bowl judgments are discussed at great length in my book, Right At The Door.

Rebuilding The Temple

Rumors abound that the temple will be rebuilt on its original site. The temple furnishings and vessels have been re-crafted, on display at the Temple Institute in Jerusalem. And there are reports that Jewish priests are in training to resume temple worship. There is even hearsay that the ark of the covenant is in hiding and safekeeping in Ethiopia. All of these hopes and dreams swirl around the interpretation of two key Biblical passages – Daniel 9:27 and II Thessalonians 2:4.

The single biggest hindrance to rebuilding the Jewish temple on the Temple Mount, obviously, is the fact that there are currently two very revered Muslim buildings on that site – the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It is highly unlikely that those holy buildings will ever be removed and the site handed back over to the Jews, or taken by the Jews. That would either cause an international crisis, or it would require a miracle. In fact, both of those will take place, soon, when Messiah Jesus comes back to earth. When Christ returns, he will be worshiped as Messiah by the Jews who live through the great battle of Armageddon that will take place in Israel and Jerusalem. When King Jesus reigns in Jerusalem, part of the rebuilding program will be to rebuild a Jewish temple for the Millennial Kingdom. It is described at length in Ezekiel 40-44. It will probably not incorporate all the sacrificial and atonement rituals, but it will be rebuilt by Messiah to allow for the Jews to worship Him with remembrance of their historic covenant, feasts, festivals, and liturgies.

That is not exactly how the rebuilding of the temple is envisioned by Orthodox Jews and American Christians. The Jews believe that the temple must be rebuilt before the coming of Messiah, and the Christians insist that it must be rebuilt before the start of the 7-year Great Tribulation. In fact, Christians who believe in a 7-year Great Tribulation adamantly believe that the rebuilding of the temple will be one of the signs, in the last days, that the first installment of the return of Christ, the rapture, is about to take place. This belief and insistence finds its source in the belief that an anti-Messiah, the man of lawlessness, will abominate and destroy the temple half way through the seventieth week of Daniel 9, at the mid-point of the great Tribulation.

Daniel recorded a vision of seventy weeks (Dan 9:24-27), an incredible prophecy about the coming Messiah. The seventieth week is the focal point of the prophecy. Messiah will make a covenant for one week (i.e., seven years). That refers to the New Covenant made by Messiah, not a covenant made by Antichrist. In the middle of the seventieth week, he will put an end to sacrifice. That was a prophecy of the crucifixion, which put an end to the need for Jewish sacrifices for atonement. It is not referring to Antichrist reneging on his covenant, destroying the temple, and bringing an end to temple sacrifices. Then there is the very difficult passage, the last half of verse 29. It predicts the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 AD. But many suggest that Titus serves as a prototype of the Antichrist, another ruler who will destroy the city and the sanctuary.  But the grand Messianic prophecy does not shift its whole emphasis from Messiah to Antichrist in the closing statement. It is God’s decree of the end of the city which was being prophesied, the city and sanctuary being important secondary themes of the prophecy along with Messiah. Jesus confirms that Daniel’s prophecy was referring to the destruction of the temple and city in 70 AD (Matt 24:15).

The other Biblical passage used to support the destruction of the temple by Antichrist in the middle of the Great Tribulation is in II Thessalonians 2:4. Paul uses a Greek word, naos, not the Greek word, ieron, in this instance. He is referring to a spiritual temple, like the temple of God in heaven (Rev 7:15), not the brick-and-mortar temple in Jerusalem. What Paul is prophesying is the appearance of the lawless one (the Islamic Mahdi), the grand rebellion that he will lead, and his claim to be God. This is all referring to the buildup to Armageddon at the end of the age, Paul’s timeline of what must happen before the return of Christ.

In conclusion, we need to be looking mainly at the signs that are recorded in Revelation to warn us that the coming of Christ is right at the door, rather than insisting that the temple must be rebuilt before the rapture and Great Tribulation. And many of those signs are already being fulfilled. History is interpreting prophecy before our very eyes. Is your heart and your faith ready to stand up under the extreme tribulation that we will all suffer in the last days?

December 22, 2022

Extreme Tribulation

We need to change our nomenclature if we even hope to understand end times prophecies accurately. What most Christians associate with the two word phrase, “great tribulation”, is not at all what God intended. They assume that “great tribulation” refers to one thing, and one thing only, a seven-year Great Tribulation. And furthermore, they assume that the Great Tribulation is only going to affect the wicked of the world, those left behind when the Christians are all peacefully and blissfully raptured away to be with Jesus.  That assumption is woefully and dangerously misleading.

Let’s propose a simple means of understanding the prophecies of Revelation accurately. Change the terminology to extreme tribulation. Let’s abandon the term great tribulation altogether, so we can understand that we are all headed into extreme tribulation as the end of the age comes upon us. We Christians will not escape the tribulation that God will unleash. The Greek words normally translated great tribulation (e.g., Rev 7:14, Matt 24:21; cf. Dan 12:1) are thlipsis megalos. Thlipsis is best translated as affliction or turmoil, but we have become more accustomed to using the English word tribulation to translate it. And megalos simply means large, extreme, huge, or great.  Changing the terminology is completely legitimate within the bounds of Biblical translation, and it is extremely helpful for getting away from the false notions associated with “great tribulation”. (That statement will obviously be challenged by those who want to believe in a seven-year Great Tribulation, and insist on the prevailing translation to support their theology. In my book, Right at The Door, there is an entire chapter dismantling the underpinnings of the seven-year Great Tribulation hoax.)

The English word that we use in so many translations, tribulation, actually comes from a Latin word, tribulum. The tribulum was a large heavy sledge-board with flint or stones on the underside. It was drug over the wheat to thresh it, separating the grain from the husks. The wheat could then be winnowed, the husks blowing away in the wind and the grain preciously gathered up.  Like the tribulum, God uses tribulation to separate the useless husks from the precious grain. That is such an important concept to understand as the last days quickly come upon us.

Tribulation is a common theme throughout Biblical history. It is a key component of God’s redemptive plan.  Tribulation is the means by which God purifies His chosen and called people. Tribulation was used by God in Egypt to stir the hearts of the Hebrews to cry out for freedom and deliverance, and again in the wilderness to prepare them to enter the promised land. Tribulation was used by God during the time of the Judges, repeatedly, to cause His people to turn back to Him for deliverance. Tribulation was used with the nations of Israel and Judah, when they were crushed by Assyria and Babylon. Tribulation was used in 70 AD, destroying the temple and decimating the unbelieving Jews, scattering the survivors to the four corners of the earth for two millennium. Why then would we Christians, at the end of the age, refuse to understand that extreme tribulation at the end of the age will again be used by God, used to purify the Church to be a holy bride for Jesus’ return. Instead we want to relegate that extreme tribulation as judgment upon the wicked, and allow for the church to be raptured, never being threshed by the tribulum, separating the true believers from the wannabes, the idolatrous and half-hearted from the deeply faithful.

For over 150 years now America has listened to prophets and teachers proclaiming that the Church will be spared the extreme tribulation that is laid out in Revelation. Bible-believing Christians are conlficted and confused over what to believe about the Great Tribulation. This quandary is similar to that described by Isaiah and Jeremiah. They pointed out, over and over, that false prophets are notorious for prophesying peace and safety, giving false hope, when God is warning of destruction, captivity, and extreme tribulation. (see Isa 30:20-22, Jer 14:13; 23:16-17, and the story of the false prophet Hananiah in Jer 28). The truth of what lies ahead is not peace and rapture. The true prophecy of Revelation is the destruction of the seventh beast nation, America, the rise of the lawless one, the leader of the eighth beast, and the final, cataclysmic battle of Armageddon. Six of the seven trumpet warnings and bowl judgments will take place while Christians are still here on the earth. Only then will Jesus return to rescue His chosen ones, catching us up from this earth just prior to the last trumpet, the horrible outpouring of His wrath. (In fact, five of the first six trumpets have already occurred, but most people are oblivious. They are not future, they have already taken place. History is the best interpreter of prophecy, not speculation.)

Is the church in America ready for extreme tribulation. The answer, I am afraid, is a resounding “no”. Many will be disheartened, dismayed, and fall away. Only a few will be threshed by the tribulum, and remain faithful and true.

 

An Army of 200 Million

Armageddon is the name of a catastrophic battle at the end of the age, detailed repeatedly in the book of Revelation. The battle has attracted the attention of Christians and non-Christians alike, conjuring up visions of the end of the world. Armageddon has taken on such familiarity that it is often used to describe massive catastrophes and military clashes. In some regards the modern use of the word Armageddon has reduced the Biblical Armageddon to a fictional horror story rather than a factual future battle. But it will be a very real battle -- World War 3, in modern vernacular.

The Armageddon battle is described in the prophecies of Revelation in several different places – at least five, to be exact. In chapter nine Armageddon is described as the sixth trumpet warning (Rev 9:13-16). This description mirrors the description of Armageddon in the sixth bowl judgment (Rev 16:12-16). The armies that engage in this future battle are the massive army of the eighth beast and the army of the Lamb (Rev 17:14), that is, the “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev 19:11-21). The battle is depicted as a focal point of God pouring out His wrath upon a particular enemy, the eighth beast, and the kings of the earth. Most people are familiar with the phrase, “the winepress of God’s wrath” (Rev 14:17-20; Rev 19:15).

The army that wages the war is extremely large. In the sixth trumpet warning most translations say that the mounted troops that John sees in his vision numbered 200 million. This number prompted many Bible scholars in the past to postulate that the army must be from China, the only nation large enough to deploy an army of that size. That number is incredibly large, we must realize. Two hundred million is more than half the entire population of the USA. Could you imagine that many soldiers crammed in to the tiny nation of Israel, where the battle will be focused? Impossible. That number, in the Greek, is written as “ten thousand times ten thousand times two,” or “two myriads of myriads” (Rev 9:16; cf Rev 5:11).  Ancient civilizations did not use numbers in the hundreds of thousands, or millions, or billions, like modern culture is accustomed to. They did not even have the vocabulary for numbers that large. Most likely the number is not literally 200 million, but rather figurative, like many details in Revelation, including the description of the sixth trumpet. For instance, the troops will likely not be “mounted troops” (9:16-17), but rather tanks, aircraft, missile launchers, and foot soldiers. Killing one-third of mankind is also figurative, mirroring the same number used in other trumpet warnings. The colors on their breastplate – red, blue, and yellow – probably are figurative of the fire, smoke and sulfur which will characterize the warfare. So then, the number two hundred million is probably also figurative. The vast size of the army is what is intended to be conveyed. Use of the number, as it is in the Greek, is similar to two Junior High boys talking about their discovery of the concept of infinity. But in this case it is further emphasized by saying that the size of the army is infinity times two – something that is not possible, but it sure gets the point across.

This army will be gathered by deceiving demons going out into the world to convince kings and peoples to unite in an effort to attack Israel.  This army will be under the leadership of the Lawless One (II Thes 2:3-4; aka Antichrist), who unites ten kingdoms (“ten horns”, Rev 17:12), that is, ten other Arab-Islamic nations, to rise up in Jihad against the Jews and their coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. The identity of the eighth beast army as a coalition of Arab-Islamic nations is developed at length in my book, Right At The Door. It is only briefly mentioned here to help understand the size of this army and the source of enmity that drives them.   

When we see the buildup to Armageddon, as described in the sixth trumpet warning and the sixth bowl judgment, then we can know that the return of Christ is very, very soon. Until that time keep your seat-belts fastened, it is going to be a rough ride. And let your heart not grow faint, but rather strengthened in the faithfulness of God’s steadfast love and eternal purposes.